Five activists arrested after a protest action in support of Salekh Rustamov

Five activists were detained in connection with a protest action on December 1 in defence of Salekh Rustamov. They were arrested for 10-30 days on the charge of violating quarantine. Advocates state the arrests are unfounded.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on December 1, the police disrupted a rally in support of Salekh Rustamov, who was on a hunger strike demanding his release. Forty people were detained. The Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan (PFPA) announces that some of the detainees were beaten by the police and that the fate of three persons is unknown.

In Baku, a court sentenced Ilkham Gusein, a member of the PFPA’s presidium, to 30 days of arrest. PFPA activists Elchin Teimurov and Elkhan Aliev were sentenced to 25 and 20 days of arrest, respectively. Sayad Guliev, a veteran of the first Karabakh war, was arrested for 15 days, and the court also sentenced young activist Rustam Ismailbeili, reports Tezekhan Miralamli, a member of the “Line of Defence” NGO.

Advocate Zibeida Sadygova notes that the court pronounced the maximum sentence, although alternative penalties are also provided for by the law, in particular, in the form of a fine.

“Thirty days of arrest means that the activist will not pass the state exams and will not get a diploma of higher education, and he will be serving in the army not during one year, but during one and a half. That is, the authorities want to isolate the activist from social activities for as long as possible,” the advocate notes.